Friday, March 07, 2008

Cleveburgh Immigration

... Support efforts of organizations like the Cleveland Council on World Affairs to increase both overseas and in-country immigration into the region as a tool for attracting skilled talent and entrepreneurs to the region, including federal advocacy for expansion of the H1B visa program and other policies that support this goal ...

... People connections include the work of the Council on World Affairs and others to attract international talent and investment to region. Where needed, the GCP will incorporate supportive advocacy into its government affairs agenda. This will include federal advocacy to raise the cap on H1B immigration visas and possible collaboration with cities like Detroit and Pittsburgh on federal advocacy to create immigration zones in the Midwest ...

There is no shame in Cleveland taking the lead on international talent flows to the Rust Belt. Richard Longworth points out in "Caught in the Middle" that most of Cleveland ignores the progressive policy ideas designed to effectively tap into globalization. Actors such as Cleveland's Council on World Affairs could and should find like-minded allies in Pittsburgh. There isn't enough critical mass locally to realize the kind of change necessary to make the Cleveland, Pittsburgh or Detroit competitive on the global scale.